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one taken! two friends conversing; one taken! two men transacting business; one taken! Husband and wife, brother and sister, master and servant; one taken! Will not men begin to think? Will not many scoffers fall upon their knees and pray? Will not the Bible be searched for with new eyes? Will not men's hearts fail them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming upon the earth? O, methinks there will be a stirring up of lukewarm ministers in that day; a crowding into churches such as never has been witnessed. A change, indeed, will come over all the face of earth's society. And so indeed we find-when this matter is dealt with in the fourteenth chapter of the Revelation-that immediately the first-fruits unto God and the Lamb, are spoken of as being with the Lord above, an angel flies in the midst of Heaven, "having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is But clearly, though there may be many who will truly turn to God in that day, yet the Devil will find means to blind the masses of the world to the true state of things; for as we pursue the chapter we perceive that after Babylon is fallen, which is the next event that will transpire, and Antichrist is established upon his throne, "the patience of the saints” is brought before us; and it is added-"Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth."+ And immediately takes place the HARVEST OF THE † Revelation xiv. 13.

come."*

*Revelation xiv. 6, 7.

EARTH, which seems to be a second gathering together of God's people unto Him,-perhaps through the medium of a fearful burst of persecution, which shall clear the earth of all who shall refuse the mark and worship of the Beast,—and so the number of the Lord's Elect will be complete, and the way be rendered clear for the tremendous VINTAGE OF THE WRATH OF GOD.*

So far then,-guided by the simple word of Holy Scripture-have we been able to obtain some most important intimations of THE STATE IN WHICH THE WORLD AND THE CHURCH WILL BE FOUND when the Advent of the Lord draws near.

I ask you not to take these things for granted, either that they are or are not as I have placed them now before you. But I beg of you, as persons deeply interested in those most momentous matters, which are-sooner or later-coming upon the earth, to search the Bible without prejudice, and without reference to pre-conceived ideas, and see for yourselves accurately how these matters stand. And then, as you value your immortal souls, look well to your own state with God. Are you in Christ? Are you in Christ? Are you forgiven? Are you saved? O what is your condition now before the King of Kings? I would urge upon you, settle these important questions. See that you are Christ's indeed: that you believe in Him: and are alive through his atoning blood and justifying righteousness,-alive to God,-the children of His grace and love. And then if the glad summons

Revelation xiv. 20.

should go forth from the high throne of Heaven"COME UP HITHER,"-you will obey with joyleave earthly things, as dross, uncared for more,and depart hence, arrayed in glory, meet for those who sit with the Eternal King upon the Throne of His dominion.

CHAPTER III.

ISRAEL AND ANTICHRIST.

"If another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." JOHN V. 43.

HAVING shown, I hope distinctly, that as the day of Christ approaches, the WORLD will display growth in wickedness; and the Church will be removed,-the first-fruits by the call from Heaven, and the remainder of the harvest by the hand of persecution;-the minds of many students of the Bible will inquire, "But what is to be the state of THAT PECULIAR PEOPLE WITH WHOM AS A NATION, GOD HAS ENTERED INTO SO REMARKABLE A COVENANT?

To the NATION OF ISRAEL and to him with whom that nation in the latter days will have a marvellous connection, even ANTICHRIST,-I shall devote this chapter.

Four thousand years have nearly passed away since the Almighty said to Abraham,-"I will make of thee a great nation. . . . . and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed."* Not long after this preliminary promise had been made, the Patriarch was called upon to lift his eyes, and look from the place where he was standing, northward, southward, eastward, and westward; and God said unto him

*Genesis xii. 1-3.

"All the land which thou seest, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed for ever."* And, on another occasion, very expressly, "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." This promise is laid down still more clearly in the BOOK OF EXODUS, where God declared to Israel,-"I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the Sea of the Philistines, and from the Desert unto the River. And so again, in DEUTERONOMY,-"Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours, from the Wilderness and Lebanon, from the River, the River Euphrates, even unto the Uttermost Sea shall your coast be." The extent of this promise seems to me to cover THE WHOLE VAST PENINSULA OF ARABIA.|| Indeed, I think, a careful perusal of the limits of the land of Israel (as they shall be) which are given in the forty-seventh chapter of EZEKIEL will show, with something which approaches clearness, that this shall be the true extent of Israel's territory. But be it as it may; the promises of God to Israel in their obvious meaning have reference to an actual and perpetual POSSESSION of the land. Now the time has NOT YET BEEN when the Children of Israel enjoyed an actual

* Genesis xiii. 14, 15.

Exodus xxiii. 31.

† Genesis xv. 18.
? Deut. xi. 24.

|| Rule a line from the northern point of the District of Lebanon to the southern point of that of Sinai, and draw a perpendicular to it. You will then find that the SEA OF OMAN is "the Uttermost Sea." And again,-start from the River Euphrates and draw a perpendicular from the average line of its course, and the RED SEA is "the Uttermost Sea." Thus the whole peninsula of Arabia will be included.

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